When I started my career as a sex worker in 2012, I dreamed of the day that I could walk into my favourite Sydney fashion boutique, Baby Likes To Pony, and buy whatever outfit I wanted, without first throwing a nervous glance at the price tag.
Although somewhat out of alignment with my true desires (I really don't care too much for expensive clothes, except my hiking gear), I still craved that feeling of financial freedom and unlimited choice; that fascinating, powerful energy I saw in other working girls I idolized, smiling sweetly with Juvederm lips as they exit Louis Vuitton with yet another Neverfull.
I still remember walking into that boutique for the first time, feeling quite out of place in my second-hand jodhpurs and weather-beaten shirt that I scored for $5 and $2 respectively at the Glebe markets mere months prior... Nervously I wandered around the boutique and marvelled at all those wonderfully crafted, incredibly beautiful garments that a past version of me would have gazed at longingly and sighed, "forget about it".
I felt like Stevie Nicks before she catapulted to fame, daydreaming of the downtown San Francisco women's boutique, Velvet Underground, where her rockstar idols Janis Joplin and Grace slick bought their clothes. Uncannily enough, at the time when I first walked into BLTP, I was sleeping on the floor of my friends' apartment... Just like Stevie Nicks was when she took her first tentative steps into Velvet Underground.
It is not this garment itself that thrills and fulfills me; it is the journey I took to acquire it, the dreams and visions manifested and fulfilled, the richness and truth of the story behind it, that will forever remain priceless to me.
I hope you enjoy these photographs. They are some of my favourite, shot by Evelyn Hunt, who is a wonderful human creating incredible work. You can find her on Instagram at @evelynhuntphoto
@missy @rambo
(I'm not sure why this is in all caps - I apologise! I can't figure out how to fix it)
